A growing number of states are saving money and reaching more constituents by tapping the Internet to deliver services and information related to government programs. That’s the good news. The bad news is the creation of large digital repositories of sensitive data about citizens that are a tempting target for hackers.
The National Association of State CIOs (NASCIO) has launched a “call to action” to evangelize the importance of rigorous security protections for states’ IT systems, timed to coincide with the National Governors Association’s winter meeting in Washington, D.C., where state executives will meet with President Obama, members of Congress and administration officials.
“With 26 new administrations, it’s imperative that new governors and other state policy leaders be aware of the cybersecurity threats that states face on a daily basis,” Kyle Schafer, NASCIO president and West Virginia CIO, said in a statement. “This call to action is meant to assist state leaders in understanding the threats and developing appropriate process and policy to mitigate risks.”
NASCIO said its concerned about any cutback in digital safeguards in the wake of budget shortfalls.
“The digital infrastructure that enables state government to both conduct business and protect federal programs administered by the states is under daily attack,” NASCIO said in its warning to governors.
eSecurity Planet has a complete wrap up of NASCIO’s security concerns and call to action.
